Abstract
Three groups of 12 rats each were trained to run a straight alley for four trials per day for 12 days with reward being three food pellets, followed by 10 additional days of training (4 trials/day). During the latter period, Ss in Group 3 — 3 continued to receive three pellets as reward on each trial. For the remaining Ss three of the four daily training trials were also followed by three pellets reward, but for Group 3 — 9 one daily trial was reinforced with nine pellets while for Group 3 — 1 one daily trial was reinforced with a single pellet. During a final single day of 20 extinction trials, Ss in Group 3 — 1 performed at a higher level than Ss in either Group 3 — 9 or 3 — 3, while no significant difference in resistance to extinction was observed for the latter groups. These results were interpreted as consistent with the frustration theory of extinction and partial reinforcement.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
AMSEL, A. The role of frustrative nonreward in noncontinuous reward situations. Psychol. Bull., 1958, 55, 102–119.
BLACK, R. W. Differential conditioning, extinction and secondary reinforcement. J. exp. Psychol., 1964, 69, 67–74.
BLACK, R. W. Shifts of magnitude of reward and contrast effects in instrumental conditioning and selectice learning: A reinterpretation. Psychol. Rev., 1968, in press.
MOWRER, O. H., & JONES, HELEN M. Habit strength as a function of the pattern of reinforcement. J. exp. Psychol., 1945, 35, 293–311.
SPENCE, K. W. Behavior theory and learning. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1960.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by a grant from the Committee on Research and Productive Scholarship of the University of South Carolina.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Black, R.W., Feig, S. Resistance to extinction following shifts in reward magnitude. Psychon Sci 9, 499–500 (1967). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327857
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03327857